Parmalat has announced that its subsidiary Parmalat Australia has bought control of Western Australia’s second largest diary company, and fruit juice producer, Harvey Fresh for $117 million. Parmalat is one of Australia’s main manufacturers of milk, yogurt, and fresh dairy products and states that the move into Western Australia is aimed at improving the company’s capacity for exporting products to Asia. Parmalat plans to keep the Harvey Fresh brand on milk, cheese, cream, and juice products and combine them with the brands the company already distributes. Local farmers are optimistic that the emergence of a giant, multi-national processor, focused on exports in the region will increase demand for local milk to be processed into value-added products which will in turn place upward pressure on farmgate prices.
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